Requires a deep moist well-drained light or medium lime-free loam in sun or semi-shade but plants produces less fruit when they are grown in the shade. Prefers a warm sunny position. Found on dry soils in the wild, one report says that it succeeds in a hot dry position. Hardy to between -5 and -10°c, succeeding outdoors in the milder parts of Britain. Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their final positions as soon as possible.

Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is used fresh or it can be dried and ground into a powder then used to make mush or added to soups etc. It can also be used to make preserves or a beverage that resembles cider in flavor. A drink is made from the berries by sprinkling them with water, kneading them with the hands, mashing them and then soaking them in the sun for about 12 hours. The liquid is then sieved to remove the pulp before being drunk on its own or with Chia (see Salvia columbiana). Water could be drained through the pulp a second time. The liquid was said to be sweet and fattening. The fruit is dry and with little flavor. The seeds can be dried, ground into a powder and used to make a mush or cakes. The seed is rather small, it would most probably have been used together with the fruit and not have been separated from it.

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Pre-soak dried seed in boiling water for 10 - 20 seconds or burn some straw on top of them and then stratify at 2 - 5°c for 2 months. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse or cold frame for at least their first winter, Plant out in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of side shoots of the current season's growth, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August to December in a frame. Takes one year. Division in early spring. Take care because the plant resents root disturbance. Pot the divisions up and keep them in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing away actively. Layering in spring.

Dry slopes below 1500 metres.